Lysophosphatidic Acid as a Potential Biomarker for Ovarian and Other Gynecologic Cancers

Abstract

PATIENTS WITH ovarian cancer have the highest mortality rate among women with gynecologic cancers, with an estimated 14500 deaths from ovarian cancer in 1998 in the United States.¹ More than two thirds of patients with ovarian cancer have widespread metastatic disease at initial diagnosis.¹ The outlook for women with advanced disease remains poor, with a 5-year survival rate of no more than 15%.² This dismal outcome is due, at least in part, to the failure to detect the disease at stage I, when the long-term survival rate may approach 90%.^1,2 Methods for earlier detection are essential to improve prognosis and overall survival of patients with ovarian cancer.